Date I went: 04/03/2020
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oritabi808/
For my first real bike ride in Kyoto I decided to go from Kyoto to Lake Biwa! It's a fairly short ride at only 10 km, and there are plenty of sights to take in along the way. You could make the trip there are back within a couple hours, but to enjoy the sights I'd plan for making it a half day journey.
Lake Biwa (琵琶湖)
Here are some geometric measures from wikipedia on Lake Biwa
Area: 258.8 mi²
Length: 39.45 mi
Width: 14.17 mi
Mean depth: 135′
It's almost big enough to be seen from a satellite.
It's said to be over 4 million years old and ranks as the 13th oldest lake in the world. These are all facts I had no idea bout until writing this post of course. There's also 3 islands within the lake, one of them having inhabitants. There's also a a very popular biking course around the lake, but that will be an adventure for another day.
Yamashina Ward (山科区)
Before you can get to Biwako from Kyoto you must go through the Yamashina ward. It's actually a part of Kyoto as well, but definitely a smaller city type of feel.
Otsu (大津市)
Otsu is the most populous district boarding Lake Biwa and the closest one to Kyoto. It's where I headed into when I visited the Lake by bicycle. You can also take a train there if you don't want to bike it, which only takes about 30 minutes.
Bike Route from my Airbnb to Lake Biwa
It was a solid 10 km bike ride to reach the lake from my Airbnb, and took me about an hour since I had to climb a couple hills and figure out my way there. It's not easy to get lost on the route though and there are plenty of convenience stores/neighborhoods along the way.
Keage Incline (蹴上インクライン)
Going up the first hill towards the Yamashina ward you come across the Kaege Incline. It used to be an old railroad but is now mainly used as a nice photoshoot site for instagram or weddings. Many girls and guys come dressed in kimono and yukata to get that photo they can brag to their friends about.
The first hill from the Kaege Incline to the Yamashina Ward
This is the first hill you cross going into the Yamashina Ward from Kyoto city. It's a gentle ride up the hill of around 50 meters. It took me about 5 minutes to climb the hill. There's a fairly wide sidewalk here as well, so no need to worry about cars.
Kozeki Pass (小関越)
After going through the Yamashina Ward I encountered the second and final hill to get to Lake Biwa called the Kozeki Pass. The climb is about 150 meters and probably took me around 20 minutes to go up; It's quite steep as well. You can take two routes to go up either on the car side or the hiking trail side. Either way you can ride a bicycle up or walk your bicycle up like I did. On this day I took the hiking trail route to be safe.
This is what most of the descent down from the Kozeki Pass looks like. It's a cool forest road, that goes steeply downhill shooting you out into the Otsu area. When I returned from Biwako to Kyoto at night it was quite scary coming up this hill. It was the first time I was afraid of the Japanese ghost stories being true. There's no lights on this road so I don't advice it, but there's hardly any cars that come on this road as well, so if you want to experience some very supernatural vibes I'd recommend coming at night to this road.
Wurzburg (ヴュルツブルク)
The bike ride from the pass to Biwako is very short and one of the most peculiar looking structures can be found at the Lakes edge. This is a German restaurant called Wurzburg and they make traditional German foods and have some great German beers. I didn't go inside on this day, but did at a later date.
Sunshine Beach (サンシャインビーチ)
Right by Wurzburg is Sunshine Beach! It's a very calm and scenic beach where most people seemed to just like taking a nice stroll or looking at the Lake view; although it almost seems like an Ocean view with the size of the Lake.
Some views of downtown Otsu from Omi Bridge as well as Lake Biwa. You can't see the Northern end from the Southern end of the Lake.
A peaceful Japanese neighborhood, until I started snapping pictures everywhere I went. It really does look just like a manga neighborhood scene right?!
The sun started to set quickly around 6 p.m. as I had lost track of the time and forgot that I still had to bike back to Kyoto. The sun setting over the mountains of Lake Biwa was quite unforgettable though.
Zeze Castle Site Park (膳所城跡公園)
This cute little park can also be found at the Southern end of the lake. I thought the bridge had a cool design so I rode across it.
Omi Bridge (近江大橋)
Omi Bridge is the one of two long bridges extending across Lake Biwa. It's often used by pedestrians and bikers as well.
Biwako Hotel (琵琶湖ホテル)
Lake Biwa has a few other hotels as well, but the Biwako Hotel definitely takes the prize as being the most unique looking. The blue frontier feels like the lake itself took the form of a hotel.
Funny Story: Before I tried biking up the Kozeki Pass I was really scared to go because it was so dark and I was a bit lost. I asked an office lady getting off work for directions to the pass, and since it seemed like she was friendly inquired if she could guide me over the mountain, to which she politely declined.
Lake Biwa Canal Museum (琵琶湖疏水記念館)
This is not the actual museum but a view I found around the museum area. There's a fountain that continually shoots up throughout the day and night. The Sakura petals are a nice touch as well.
Heian Shrine (平安神宮)
This is not at Heian Shrine itself, but around the river/moat of the shrine. I've marked it in red on the google map above, but I'm sure you won't be able to miss it if you check it out!
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